A review by minimicropup
The Fury by Alex Michaelides

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I loved everything about this. Light-hearted until it wasn’t. Lines imprinted on my mind.
 
Energy: Vigilant. Sanguine. Ruthless.
Scene: 🇬🇷 🇬🇧 Private island near Mykonos, Greece; pubs and homes in London, UK.
Perspective: Our narrator is telling us the about their friend group and what occurred on their most recent visit to their friend’s island getaway weekend.

🐩 Tail Wags: The layering of light over-the-top drama with moments of depth and check-ins with the reader. The scheming, fake-outs, drama, back-tracking plot. Our morally grey narrator who I alternately felt horrified by and heart-broken for. The peripheral character arcs and development.

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🧐 Random Thoughts:
  • If you are struggling to get immersed in the story and not feeling the feels, it could be hard to stay engaged. 
  • If you never feel empathy, sympathy (or even pity) for the narrator and dislike spending time with unlikeable characters this may be a struggle.
  • Hard to read with long or frequent breaks. The way the story is presented works better when you remember which Act you’re in and are fresh off the previous one. 
  • If you’re an overanalyzer like me, hold off on that ‘til the end!
 
🎬 Tale-Telling: Direct, lyrical writing style. The story starts in the middle of the action.
👥 Characters: Complex. Manipulative but empathetic though I could be persuaded otherwise.
🤓 Reader Role: Meeting for a drink with the narrator who has a story to tell and being their anchor. 
🗺️ World-Building: Atmospheric weather, sensory and visual details; cultural and emotional landscapes; body language and reactions.
🔥 Fuel: Who is our narrator? Who died? How? Why? Who did it? What will happen to everyone on the island?
📖 Cred: Emotionally hyper-realistic, situationally plausible with a touch of exaggeration for effect.
🚙 Journey: Quick drink with a potential friend turns into hours of sipping the tea with moments of reflection and soul searching.
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Mood Reading Match-Up:
  • Spring. Wind. Waves. Sea birds. Clinking plates. Laughter. Whispers. Applause. 
  • Friendship-relationship drama murder mystery in an isolated setting where all is not as it seems 
  • Machiavellianism with Heart
 
Content Heads-Up: Gun use and violence. Bullying (recall; descriptive). Infidelity (brief; not sexually descriptive; on and off page). Alcohol use (partying, intoxicated; on page). Alcoholism (brief, recall; off page). Child abuse and parental neglect (brief recall; descriptive). Homelessness, financial insecurity (brief recall; descriptive). Sexual exploitation (implied; off page). Animal death (
pigeon hunting and meal prep
).

Rep: Cisgender. Heterosexual. White British and American. Greek characters and experiences.

📚 Format: Paperback

🤩 Potential Fav of 2024

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